Is Dirt Actually Good For Your Kids?

March 12, 2018

This may be a crazy concept, but your child may be able to build up immunity by playing in the dirt. Mothers tend to overly sanitize their baby’s environment, hoping to stave off diseases or fever, but instead this results into the loss of building up a child’s immune system. Children need to be exposed to microorganisms in order to build up their immune system. You don’t need to sanitize everything for your baby. Actually, letting a baby play with dirt protects the child from autoimmune diseases, allergies, and asthma.

Websites like Mommy Authority have reviews and articles giving advice to mothers by mothers and other medical experts. You can find out what other mothers think about all kinds of topics, like parenthood advice, nutrition information, and which supplements to buy to boost immunity. In fact, we will discuss how turmeric can help raise immunity if you are looking for natural ways to help the body. To learn about Mommy Authority, click here for more.

What is the Hygiene Hypothesis

To develop a healthy immune system, there have been studies that show that a body needs worms, bacteria and viruses from the environment to strengthen the immune response. A baby’s instinct of picking up anything off the ground and putting it in his or her mouth allows his or her immune response to explore the environment. The younger the child is, the better his or her immunity can be built. Bacteria can help the immune system learn, adapt and change in order to protect the body the next time the child is exposed to something potentially harmful.

According to this information, the hygiene hypothesis is that when you limit the exposure of a child to the environment, the baby will then develop medical conditions later on, such as allergies, autoimmune disease, or asthma.

Studies have shown that children who have siblings, have grown up on a farm, or who attend daycare actually have less allergies than other children their age. In fact, children who are exposed to animal feces, such as children with a pet or on a farm, have higher cases of diarrhea before the age of two. This sounds painful, but the study also continues stating the the inflammation in their bodies as they grew up was much lower compared to other children. Lower inflammation protects you from heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

This isn’t saying that we should go back to the days where there was no clean water nor sewage filtration systems available. Hygiene is important and there is deadly bacteria that can attack the immune system in sewage or unfiltered water. Not to freak you out, but there is bacteria everywhere inside and outside your body: it is estimated that the body contains 90 trillion microbes. However, it’s important to not be too clean. Teach your kids to wash their hands after playing outside, but there is no need to be hyper-aware of your baby picking up germs by crawling and licking random surfaces. Remember that most of the microbes in your body help with digestion and support your health. So, take off your kid’s shoes and let them play in the dirt.

Turmeric: Great For Immunity

A great supplement you can add to you or your child’s diet to boost immunity is turmeric. Perhaps your child has grown up in too sterile of an environment and is getting sick constantly. Or you are worried your child has low immunity, despite you letting him or her play outside. In this case, you can try a turmeric supplement.

Make sure the supplement you buy also contains piperine, or black pepper. Piperine helps your body absorb the turmeric and receive all of its amazing benefits.

Let Them Play!

Next time you see your child gleefully enter your house, cover in mud, you should worry more about keeping your carpet clean than your kid catching a cold. Children need to be exposed to dirt for their bodies to adapt to the bacteria. Exposing a child at a young age to a less sanitized environment can help them avoid developing allergies, asthma, or an autoimmune disease. If you are worried about your child’s immunity overall, turmeric is a great supplement that boosts immunity. Hopefully you can get some peace of mind when you’re at the park and your child is playing on the playground, knowing the play he or she is doing is helping develop a healthy and strong immune system.